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Gavin and Nines had spent most of the day lazing around their apartment, relaxing on their day off and enjoying each others presence. They'd planned on going shopping later that evening, but decided to go a little earlier and get it out of the way.
"Come on Gav, it'll be quick." Nines said, grabbing his coat as he glanced over at Gavin who had made no move to get up off the couch. "Gavin." Nines said again, his tone more stern this time.
He really didn't want to leave the house, he hated being out in public in crowded noisy, areas, and grocery stores were the epitome of loud and noisy. He glared, knowing that this was unfortunately not up for debate.
He huffed and begrudgingly stood, pulling his leather jacket on before following Nines out the door. They both walked down the hall and into the elevator, Nines pressed the ground floor button and the doors slid closed.
"I hate shopping." He mumbled, feeling tired and irritable. He had been feeling little today and it always made him extra grumpy. He didn't like leaving the house when he felt like this, but the idea of staying home by himself was scary. He hated being alone when he was little and he wasn't sure Nines would even have let him stay, Nines tended to be a bit overprotective whenever he was regressed.
"You hate going anywhere Gav." Nines said, rolling his eyes as he looked over at Gavin.
"Exactly." He mumbled again, making sure that his displeasure was made very obvious. Nines only chuckled in response.
As they stepped out of the building Gavin noticed the growing storm clouds, his anxiety rising at the thought of possible thunder. It was a stupid and very irrational fear, but he'd always been terrified of thunder.
Nines seemed to notice his growing stress, "The forecast says it's not supposed to start raining until 3pm, we'll be back before it starts." Nines gave him a soft smile before stepping into the drivers side and closing his door. He took another nervous glance at the sky before getting in the car and heavily sitting down.
"It still can thunder without rain." His voice was small and laced with a mild amount of fear. Nines gave him a worried look and gently brushed a hand across his cheek.
"It'll be alright love, we'll be fast." He tried to give Nines a halfhearted smile, but it ended up coming out as a grimace instead. He wanted to stay, but they didn't ever have extra time to go shopping so their off days were one of their only chances to do so.
He frowned, leaning his head against the car window and staring up at the clouds. His increasing anxiety was quickly causing him to slip more and more with every passing minute.
By the time they'd gotten to the store he'd almost completely dropped, his head felt fuzzy and he really didn't want to go inside. He felt small and scared, he just wanted to go home and curl up in his bed, safe and away from the approaching storm.
"Come on Gav, let's go." Nines's gentle voice helped calm him mildly, but he was still prepared to put up a fight about going inside. He'd fully dropped by this point and was feeling very anxious.
He shook his head and whined, his eyes big and fearful. Nines sighed, "I'll get you a snack while we're inside." Nines coaxed, giving a playful grin. He frowned, usually the idea of a snack was enough to convince him, but he was already very upset, so unfortunately, Nines's bribe was ineffective.
He felt tears well in his eyes, he was very afraid and felt bad for giving Nines trouble. "Oh sweetheart, it's okay." Nines leaned over and gave him a tight hug, as he began crying.
"I'm not upset with you love." Nines always somehow managed to know what was bothering him; at times it was annoying, but quite frequently, it was very helpful.
"I know you're scared, but it's going to be okay." Nines gently rubbed his back, attempting to soothe him. He clung tightly as hot tears rolled down his cheeks, quickly soaking into Nines's shirt.
Nines squeezed him tightly one more time before pulling away and gently cupping his face.
"I need you to be a big boy today Gav, just for a little while and then we can go home and do whatever you'd like. Can you do that for me?" He sniffled and wiped his eyes, hesitantly nodding.
"Thank you love, I promise we'll be so fast." He nodded again, hugging Nines tightly one more time before stepping out of the car.
He glanced nervously at the sky that was quickly continuing to darken. "Try not to think about it sweetheart." Nines said softly, gently grabbing his hand and guiding him inside the store.
When they stepped inside he was quickly overwhelmed by all of the bright lights and loud noises. He whined quietly and squeezed Nines's hand tighter. "I've got to push the cart, do you want to sit in it?" He shook his head quickly, he knew that would attract a lot of stares and he didn't want that.
Nines gently attempted to free his hand but Gavin refused to let go, whining in response, tears beginning to well in his eyes again. Nines sighed, pursing his lips. "I need both hands to push the cart Gav." His voice remained gentle, but his mild frustration was clear in his expression. Thankfully when Gavin was little he wasn't able to pick up on those small expressions as well so he didn't notice.
He whined again, but reluctantly let go, gripping tightly to the hem of Nines's shirt instead. "Thank you love." Nines smiled and ruffled his hair playfully.
He watched as Nines hurried through the store, trying to grab things as quickly as he could. He'd finally managed to relax a little when a loud crack of thunder ripped through the noise of the store. He jumped and latched onto Nines, tears quickly forming in his eyes as his breathing quickened.
"Hey, hey, it's okay sweetheart." Nines pushed the cart out of the walkway and hugged him tightly. "Look we're already done, we can go home now." Nines said quietly, gently rubbing his back. Nines attempted to pull away but he clung tightly, beginning to audibly cry.
"No, no don't cry love, it's okay, you're safe Gav." Nines whispered, trying to reassure him and calm the imminent meltdown.
Seeing a grown man crying in the middle of the store over a little thunder was.. a bit bizarre, and they were receiving a lot of odd stares. He looked up to see Nines giving nasty glares to anyone who had stopped to stare.
"Let's get you home honey, then we can lie down and you can take a nap." Nines brushed a hand over his cheek then pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
"Can you be brave for just a little longer while we check out?" Nines asked quietly. His lip wobbled and he felt more tears pricking at his eyes, but he wiped them away and nodded. "You're doing so good Gav, thank you." He smiled, feeling his heart swell at the praise.
Another crack of thunder caused him to jump again, but he swallowed the lump forming in his throat and grabbed onto Nines's arm, following him to the checkout.
Nines scanned everything as fast as he could and tasked Gavin with bagging their groceries; it helped distract him a bit, but he still flinched and whined every time a sudden crack of thunder rang in his ears.
"See, all done." Nines smiled, quickly grabbing all of the bags. "Can you put the cart back for me Gav?" He nodded, happy to help and hoping to gain more praise from the action. He liked doing a good job, it made him feel useful and accomplished, especially when he was feeling small.
He pushed the cart back then quickly ran over to Nines, smiling big. Nines laughed lightly in response, "Good job sweetheart." His grin widened, earning him another gentle laugh from Nines.
Another crack of thunder shook the building, it was much louder than the last couple had been, causing him to shriek and latch onto Nines again. The noise hadn't been loud enough to draw too much attention, but he still felt embarrassed.
"It's okay honey, you're okay." Nines gently shushed him as he began to cry again. "Let's get to the car before the rain starts." Nines began walking towards the exit, ensuring that Gavin was following before getting too far away.
They rushed back to the car and Gavin quickly scrambled inside, closing the door and pulling his knees to his chest. Nines tossed the groceries in the back and then joined him.
"You did so good Gav, I'm very proud of you." His frown quickly turned up into a small grin, happy to know that Nines thought he'd done good even though he felt like he hadn't.
They thankfully beat the rain, just barely making it back inside before it started to pour down in heavy sheets. Gavin quickly ran to their bedroom and buried himself under the covers, grabbing his stuffed dog before doing so. He curled up into a tight ball and waited for Nines to join him, crying out as another crack of thunder shook their apartment.
He heard Nines rush into the room then felt the bed dip as Nines sat down next to him. The blanket was slowly lifted as Nines peeked in at him. "There you are sweet boy." Nines smiled, his voice hushed and playful.
He frowned up at Nines, tears still rolling down his cheeks; Nines reached over and gently wiped them away. "You did so good today honey, I'm sorry it was so scary." Nines gave him a sad look before shuffling under the covers, pulling him close and running a tender hand through his hair.
He immediately felt safer having Nines next to him, curling closer and gently closing his eyes. The thunder didn't feel as scary now that he was safely tucked away under the covers, wrapped up tightly in Nines's arms.
"I love you." Nines said quietly, pressing a tender kiss to the top of his head. He hummed happily, feeling unable to respond, but knowing that Nines would understand.
He felt his eyes getting heavy as he listened to the rain gently thumping against his window. He felt happy and oh so loved, Nines's presence quickly calming him.
"Try to rest my love, you've had a long day." He hummed again in response, feeling his body relaxing into his bed.
He was very grateful to have such a wonderful partner, Nines always knew exactly how to care for him and how to help him through his drops.
He smiled contently and felt himself beginning to drift off, the gentle rain slowly lulling him to sleep.